“Up until last week, Tillis voted in near lockstep with President Trump — FiveThirtyEight, which tracks such things, clocks it at 95.8 percent, with the only disagreement being sanctions on Russia.

But it looks like he’s had enough.

Last week Tillis was so fed up he reached across the aisle — a risky move for a Republican in the US Senate these days — to effectively block the president from firing Robert Mueller, who is currently investigating the administration for ties to Russia.

On the Sunday news shows, Tillis didn’t deny that his bill was directed specifically at the president.

His bill, co-sponsored with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), would allow Mueller — were he to be fired — to challenge the termination before a three-judge panel. A similar bill, by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), would require judicial review before the firing of a special counsel could take place.

The Graham/Booker package seems the better of the two, plus it’s got great name recognition. But the Tillis/Coons bit would make for much better television, and we’re proud to see North Carolina’s own taking a stand.”

On social media, Triad City Beat Senior Editor Jordan Green acknowledged some readers who have come to expect a more liberal perspective from the paper might be irked by the editorial – and made it clear that the paper doesn’t particularly care.